Skyline emerges victorious at 4A state swim meet

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Provo • There wasn't a lot left to race for. Both the Skyline girls and boys had won their respective state titles long ago.

But in the end, it wasn't about the competition from other teams.

"When it boils down to it, it was pride," senior Travis Norseth said. "It's about leaving a legacy, and showing future teams just how good we were."

So the Eagles finished out the Class 4A state tournament the way they wanted to: with a pair of wins in the 400 freestyle relays on their way to a dominant overall victory. The Skyline girls nearly doubled the point total of second-place Woods Cross, while the boys' team managed to rack up 131 points more than runner-up Mountain Crest.

But the team trophies were far from the only prize. Skyline boasted four more individual championships and three relay wins on the second day of competition Saturday at BYU.

ARTICLE PHOTO GALLERY

Senior Natalie Bennion won the 100-yard freestyle, while sophomore Lillian Moore won the 100-yard butterfly, giving each two individual titles for the weekend. Bennion also helped push the 200- and 400-yard freestyle teams to victory  Moore led off in the day's final race.

"It was huge for me to win the 100, because my sister and I went 1-2 two years ago," Bennion said. "It's kind of a Bennion race. It's really exhilarating to win as a team, too."

Norseth helped take home the 100-yard butterfly, while junior David Amirkhanashvili won the 100-yard freestyle, giving both two individual titles at the meet. Senior Scott Sorenson took home gold in the 100-yard backstroke, and all three contributed to a record-setting 400-yard freestyle performance.

But it wasn't just the time that made the race meaningful  Sorensen swam his last high school race with his brother, sophomore James Sorensen.

"It's a special day  the last time I swim with my brother probably for a while, and the last time I swim with these guys," Scott Sorensen said. "They're all my brothers. I've had a good time swimming with them."

Not all the day's races went to the Eagles. Olympus' Shaylee Howard won a state title in the 100-yard backstroke, beating out higher-seeded racers. Sky View's Shaelynn Bodrero and Mountain Crest's Anton Koponen won the 100-yard breaststroke girls' and boys' competition, respectively.

The Sky View boys' 200-yard freestyle relay team even edged Skyline, coming in just more than a second away from setting a 4A record.

The day's most impressive victories came to Mountain Crest's Hailey Pabst and Olympus' Shawn Western, both named the outstanding swimmers of the meet. Pabst smashed her competition by about 20 seconds in the 500 freestyle, setting a 4A record. Western claimed revenge for a close loss Friday to Mountain Crest's William Watts by swimming 4:33.95 in the 500 freestyle  less than a second off the all-classification state record.

"I wish I had pushed that second 200  that record would have been fun to break," Western said. "But ultimately, I was trying to swim a perfect race, and it was almost perfect. It's good enough for me." 

Event winners

Girls' 100 butterfly • Lillian Moore, Skyline (57.51)*

Boys' 100 butterfly • Travis Norseth, Skyline (51.91)

Girls' 100 freestyle • Natalie Bennion, Skyline (52.18)

Boys' 100 freestyle • David Amirkhanashvili (48.12)

Girls' 500 freestyle • Hailey Pabst, Mountain Crest (5:02.96)*

Boys' 500 freestyle • Shawn Western, Olympus (4:33.95)*

Girls' 200 freestyle relay • Skyline (1:39.85)*

Boys' 200 freestyle relay • Sky View (1:29.92)

Girls' 100 backstroke • Shaylee Howard, Olympus (58.67)

Boys' 100 backstroke • Scott Sorensen, Skyline (52.76)

Girls' 100 breaststroke • Shaelynn Bodrero, Sky View (1:09.49)

Boys' 100 breaststroke • Anton Koponen, Mountain Crest (1:00.24)

Girls' 400 freestyle relay • Skyline (3:35.79)

Boys' 400 freestyle relay • Skyline (3:12.14)*

*  Class 4A record 

Team results

Girls (points)

1 • Skyline (458.5)

2 • Woods Cross (235)

3 • Olympus (211)

Boys (points)

1 • Skyline (396)

2 • Mountain Crest (265)

3 • Springville (243.5)

Also • For event winners, see Scoreboard. > S11

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